


The Love of a Father

by WhumpTown



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Extremis Tony Stark, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Protective Peter Parker, Tony Stark Acting as Harley Keener's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, tony stark is a dad
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-06
Updated: 2019-05-25
Packaged: 2020-02-27 10:51:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 11,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18737548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhumpTown/pseuds/WhumpTown
Summary: Spoilers for Endgame!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Harley, Peter, and Morgan are the light of Tony Stark's life. A couple of rocks aren't going to stop him from seeing his kids and they are going to make sure of it.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I, personally, think they did a great job with Endgame. Tony was a hero, he was right, and just like always he was willing to give up his life for the greater good. It's just that this time his luck ran out, there was no warm-hole to fall back out of or no element to invent. The universe needed a hero and like always, Tony Stark provided. 
> 
> Long live Tony Stark no matter how you chose to remember him (personally, I love the utter dumbass that is Howard Potts)

_“You can rest now.”_

Pepper’s voice is the last thing that he hears before he slips off. The sweet ruthless massacre of unconsciousness is the only thing that distracts his mind from the pain radiating everywhere throughout his body. The pain grows steady. It began in his fingertips the moment he touched the first stone. Radiating up his wrist as the nanobots inched the stones into place. A coy, painless part of his brain felt like a ruthless, New York pickpocket. Like one from one of Peter's movies. Then the second stone clicked into place and the breath was knocked from his lungs. Words are unable to describe the fire in his arm when he snapped his fingers and if this is what Pepper felt having Morgan than he owes her big time.

Everything is white for a long moment, even his thoughts and his loud brain. He’s more or less aware of where he is. The pain is like ocean waves but it never really goes away, each wave is just worse. There are brief moments of something like consciousness that try to stick their head through the waves. His brain screams one thought ‘Pepper’ once and he feels his mouth moving to agree with his brain. The distinct feeling of a hand in his makes nausea bite at his throat but he falls back under another wave.

“Shit.”

The world soaks back into view. He’s not sure where here is but it’s cold and white. Sounds breakthrough… pain meds. He must be on some good pain meds. He can still feel the waves just without the pain. It grates his nerves and there’s this aggravating hiss of what he can only assume is an oxygen canal. It itches the back of his ears and makes his nose hurt. The heart monitor is eare and loud, it grates his nerves. All too soon it comes to a crashing halt as something cold eats his arm alive and he sinks back down into the cotton feeling of painless sleep. Thankful to the nurses who spend their days feeding the good drugs into patient’s IVs.

There’s a hand in his hair. It pushes his bangs away from his face in a distinctly Pepper kind of way. Soft lips press to his forehead and she speaks softly to him. “Morgan said ‘shit’ yesterday. I want to be mad at you because I know she heard it out of your mouth, but she looked up at me after saying it and…” Something wet and hot lands on his cheek but he’s already too far gone to bring her any comfort. He can’t even find the strength to move. “She’s so much like you. She needs you, we all need you.”

The room is alive with energy. Tony can’t place where Peter is in it but he knows the boy is here and causing chaos. His answer comes in a series of too loud noises and a repeated ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry’. He manages to open his left eye, looking around the room and catching just enough of Peter’s brown curls to smile and fall back asleep.

“-another donut. He can eat like sixty, I counted Daddy. Do you know how many dozens that is? We ordered 6 boxes and he ate 5!” Tony feels contently at ease with an all too failure weight settled against his side. Little fingers twist his hospital gown just like they usually do with his t-shirts. She moves and continues on with her story. “I really do love Peter like… six hundred. He’s the bestest.”

Tony fights the exhaustion creeping in around the edges of his mind. He opens his left eye again, giving up with the right when it doesn’t listen. He moves his arm just enough, giving Morgan the faintest tug. She snaps to attention, turning in the bed to look at him just absolutely beaming. “Daddy!”

She crawls up the bed, hitting some rather sore wounds but nothing matters when her arms wrap around his neck. She hugs him tight and his body feels at ease despite small discomforts. His child buries her head into his neck and mumbles,” I knew you’d come back.” He falls asleep safely nestled in her arms.

Something that vaguely sounds like Alien plays in the background. He doesn't move around too much, too tired to want to fight through a conversation with whoever else is in the room.

One elbow misplaced digging into his side and his status is blown. Peter's looking straight at him when he opens his eyes and the boys surprised shout take the whole room by surprise. "He's awake!" His goober kids all three looking at him with equal amounts of what looks like chocolate smudged in the corners of their lips. God, what he wouldn’t do for them.

 

**Just After The Snap**

_“You can rest now._

Tony’s eyes shut, fluttering once before the Arc Reactor on his chest shuts off. It’s only then that Pepper really shows how truly broken she feels. She sobs, loudly, and presses her forehead to Tony’s. She cradles his head in her hands, her fingers carding through her hair. It’s almost too much for Peter. All the pounding hearts in empty chests. 

Until he realizes he hears one distinctly different and uniquely Tony’s. He knows the difference between Tony’s heartbeat and Pepper’s. Just like them, Pepper’s is sure-fire and strong. Very healthy and it probably has something to do with the accident that Tony won’t tell him about. However, Tony’s is weak, uncertain. It falters a lot and the one he hears now is slow and unsteady.

“Mr. Doctor Strange, sir!” Peter pulls free from the arms that he’d been pulled into. He fights his way to stand in front of Dr. Strange, who looks almost ashamed and guilty for the turn of events. Perhaps he should be. “I need a portal to my Aunt May’s!”

He shakes his head, once proud shoulders hanging to the ground,” Peter, that’s not how this works. I have to see where I’m opening a portal.” He reaches out to touch Peter’s shoulder but the boy shrugs him off. He sighs, deeply. “Peter, you can’t save him. He’s gone. His mission-”

“No!” Peter looks around, eyes landing on Scarlet Witch. “You! Miss Red Witchy lady, use your red stuff and show him my Aunt’s house.” He motions to her, pointing to his temple and then to Dr. Strangers head. She doesn’t move for a moment and he can’t find it in him to be flashy, cute Peter Parker. “Now! I’m not just going to watch him die because you’re all cowards!” It strikes the right cords because the next thing he knows he can see into his room through a glowing, sparking hole. 

Peter leaps through it,” bring him here!” He gets to his desk with ease, not even embarrassed that May never cleaned his room in his 5 years absent. He’s got five-year-old boxers thrown over his AP World History textbook. That’s not what’s important. What he needs is the vial of poison in his desk drawer. “I’m not supposed to have this so don’t tell him.” Peter doesn’t think twice about climbing back into the portal. He does pause, his brain short-circuiting at the sudden change in the air.

They all watch him, terrified for him, and he swallows thickly. He sniffles, aware of the tears still on his face. “I’m sorry I, uh,” he laughs, wiping his nose. “I thought about-Do you know how embarrassing it is that I’ve been grounded by Iron Man?” He clears his throat, ducking his head away from their gazes. He falls back down to his knees, at Tony’s side. “He took my suit away, Iron Man grounded me and now I’m about too…”

With the reactor disabled the suit comes apart with startling ease. If Tony survives this dumb idea of his, he’ll have to inform the man about the defect. “I’m going to inject him with…” Peter looks up at the adults. He swallows thinking, realizing how badly this could go quickly. “Uhm, Mister Doctor Strange? Can you get us to a hospital? A shield one, maybe?” The armor is effectively off and Pepper’s about to object to whatever is about to happen but Peter brings his syringe down into Tony’s chest, hard. The man jerks. “It’s Extremis, a diluted solution he created for-for, I don’t know. I’m not supposed to really know about but…”

They’re all looking at him and he’s terrified. He tosses the syringe away from him and buries his face in his hand. “I wasn’t supposed to mess with it.” He looks up at Pepper something close to horror in her eyes. He’s really messed up now. “It’d never be FDA approved and he told me to forget we ever even synthesized it but I got curious. I stole it from the lab. His blood is compatible with it.” He stands, no longer certain about himself,” he would have died without it.”

They all stand in a moment of… silent horror, Peter’s pretty sure. Until Captain America calls them to move again,” thank you, Peter.” He looks around them and bends down, picking up Tony’s limp body in his arms,” Avengers, Spider-Man has done his part and now it’s our turn.”

Captain America nods at Scarlet Witch and red overtakes Peter’s head. He tries to fight it but his head is fuzzy and heavy and he’s falling back. “W-Wait…” hands come up under his arms, holding him up. 

Captain America frowns, sadly,” I’m sorry, Queens. You’re not in the right mindset to deal with this right now.”

The world fades to black. His legs are gone. He’s turning into dust again but Pepper’s is gently stroking his cheek. Her lips moving slowly, his eyes drifting shut. 

He wakes up alone in a hospital room with Captain America. The older man isn’t paying him any attention. He’s sitting in the chair beside Peter, his head in his hands. He’s out of the uniform, in a grey sweater and jeans. He’s visibly tired.

“You know,” Peter turns onto his side, pulling his knees to his chest. He’s suddenly warmer even if he was never that cold, to begin with. “I’m not inclined to like you very much. They made videos of you and show them at school all the time that and… You know, Siberia.”

Steve looks at him and Peter sees nothing that would suggest he’s angry, just tired. Siberia gets a visual response, just a deeper, sadder kind of tired. “I forgot about those clips,” he rubs his hand down his face. “Tony already… I… I never meant for things to the way they did in Siberia, Peter.” He looks so impossibly tired that Peter almost feels bad but… but then again Captain freaking America knocked him out so they’re even. 

He stands and Peter shrinks into the bed. Steve towers over him but looks rather harmless altogether. He folds his arms across his chest and Peter isn’t so sure why he’s intimidated by a man who stands with his hands wrapped up in his sweater. “I’m sorry about everything that’s happened. Tony shouldn’t have taken you to Germany but I certainly shouldn’t have dropped that trailer on you.” The sentence exhausts him, his admissions and thoughts on that day coming to weigh on him. “We really did get off on the wrong foot didn’t we?”

Peter nods, his arms wrapped around his chest. 

Steve clicks his tongue, for the first time Peter thinks of him as a person. Not just Captain America but Steve Rodger, just a kid from Brooklyn with the same amount of something special as the rest of everyone else. A hero but first a man. A man who seems to be questioning a lot right now. “Peter? Do you we could try again?”

He thinks about it, granted not for very long. He nods his approval and Steve actually sighs with relief.

“Okay. Uhm, now that you’re up, I’m sorry about having Wanda knock you out like that. It’s just that you had this look in your eye, one that I’ve seen enough to know you were walking a thin wire.” Steve seems genuine. “I hope you can forgive me for that. Don’t hold it against Wanda, she was just given orders.”

“It’s okay. I was tired anyway.” 

Steve smiles,” okay. Tony’s just down the hall, Pepper said not to come until you’re all rested up. You seem pretty okay to me though.” The smile falters and Peter’s chest aches at what that could imply as far as Tony’s health goes. “He’s doing well. Your, uh, Extremites? They’re working well. He’s healing quickly but-but they did have to amputate his right arm.”

They amputated his arm. The good one. 

Flashes of working with Tony in the garage pass before his eyes. The problems that Tony’s forever trembling left hand messing up so many things. He drops test tubes, he knocks tools off of benches, and he drops chemicals. Half of it is the fact that Tony is clumsy, that he’s wealthy and sometimes he doesn't pay as much attention to things as he should and the other half is the lack of control he has over his left hand.

Tony’s going to be devastated. 

“It-It’s called Extremis.” Peter wipes the tears from his eyes with more force than necessary. He’s angrier than he should be, it’s childish. He’s being stupid and silly-

Steve puts a hand on his shoulder,” you alright, kid?”

Peter nods, on the verge of very well not being alright. It’s enough for Steve though and he leaves Peter with another nod and a promise to bring him a sandwich on his way back. 

 

 

“Who are you?” If he’s being honest, the moment that Pepper walked in holding a bag of clothes for him he knew that he was going to be embarrassed. Sure enough, he finds the sweatshirt he stole from Tony at the bottom of it. It makes him wonder what Pepper thought when she found it. He puts it on anyways and nearly sobs at the thought of the fact that it smells like Tony. 

How is it that five years have passed and yet neither Aunt May nor Tony and Pepper have touched his rooms? What does that mean? What has he done?

That’s how he found himself in Tony’s room, wearing his mentor’s sweatshirt, and finding some random kid by his mentor’s bedside. That and he looks like an idiot and there’s literally like an adult looking person staring at him. 

The kid/man stands up and brushes his palms off on his jeans,” uh, Harley. Harley Keener. Miss Potts said I could come up here with him? If there’s a prob-”

Peter puts his hands up,” no, no. It’s fine, everything’s fine.” Harley nods and they shake hands, Peter quickly finds out why Harley had to wipe his palms off. The kid’s got sweaty hands but so does Tony, it almost makes him smile. “So, how do you know Tony?”

Harley rolls his eyes at that,” he, uh, crashed landed in Tennessee, practically in my backyard. I came home from school and tried to shoot him with a potato gun, we were ‘connected’.” Harley glances back at the man in the bed and his smile fades. “Seems we don’t have much of that anymore.”

Peter follows his gaze but quickly pulls his eyes away. There’s a giant hole where Tony’s right arm should be, just an empty half of the bed. Not to mention the tape and orange solution resting on his skin. 

Harley follows the path his eyes have made and he smiles sadly,” yeah. It’s a lot to take in at first.”

Peter nods,” I think I’m going to go back to my room. This might just be enough adventure for one day.”

Harley nods sympathetically and seats back down in his chair. He waits until he can’t hear Peter’s footsteps before he leans down. He touches his old mentor’s hand and asks,” really, Tony? That’s Peter? He’s like, what, sixteen? I thought Peter would at least be twenty. You took an actual kid under your arm. To think that you used to make fun of my daddy issues.” Harley ‘tisk’ and leans back in his chair,” you, sir, are sitting on the throne of daddy issues. Dadding kids to make up for your problems. Yikes.”

It digs up painful memories. He thinks about the panic attacks he's talked Tony down from. The lab explosions he's caused just because damaged and stupid but Tony always had some backward joke that would soothe Harley down from where he'd talked himself up. He thinks about after the snap and Morgan. Sweet Morgan who is so much like her dad that it scares Harley. There should only be so many intelligent people out there as is let alone two Stark’s. 

He thinks about Morgan telling him that he's her favorite brother. Tony laughing and saying "he's your only brother". The statement being more or less true still made Tony lock himself in the bathroom for an hour while he panicked. 

Harley already knows Peter. He's the kid they don't talk about. His suits are hidden. His room is locked. They don't talk about him, Tony's shit heart can't handle it.

In the hall, the other two ‘Stark’ children run into each other, literally. Peter was absorbed in not freaking out while Morgan was carefully holding the large muffin she was planning on sharing with her best friend, Harley.

“Are you okay?” Peter picks her off of the ground before she actually can process falling, in his hands is her muffin. It never even touched the floor. 

Peter is dumbstruck by how similarly this child looks to Tony and of course he’d heard the child-like babbling pass his room many times but he’d never really connected a child to Tony. He would, of course, make a fantastic father. He had for Peter. This kid must be luckier than she’ll ever know. “What’s your name? Mine’s Peter.”

She takes the muffin carefully from his hand. Holding it in both of her hands before daring to answer him. “I’m Morgan. I’m going to see my Daddy and Harley.” She looks up at him with assurance and there’s just no way that he’s going to stop her from running around a hospital. She knows what she’s doing. But then she squints her eyes and asks,” Peter? Like Peter Parker like Spider-Man?”

His mouth goes dry and his heart pounds in his chest, shit. How would she- Tony. Why would Tony tell his daughter about him? “Y-Yeah.”

She smiles, nods her head, and walks away. “Cool.” 

God, has there ever, actually, been a normal Stark?

 

 

“You called him old?”

All of Tony Stark’s misfit kids sit in a circle in his room. Morgan atop Peter’s shoulders, playing with his hair while the older boys engage in a battle of connect four… to death. Or rather until one of the wagers all of their snacks on a game and loses. For now, they banter about Tony. Morgan insightfully tells them things about one another that only Tony ever told her. Harley and Peter comfort one another. 

“Inadvertently,” Peter mumbles, looking over his shoulder at their slumbering mentor. Then he nods up towards the movie on the screen,” I called Aliens, the movie, old. Rather, really old but how was I supposed to know that he’s older than the movie Aliens? I don’t think-”

Harley rolls his eyes,” yeah, obviously you don’t.” He shakes his head and rubs his face,” I can’t believe he didn’t skin you for that. I commented on a grey hair he didn’t cover up and he stopped making me sandwiches and hanging out with me for like three days.”

Peter’s heart sinks because in a way that did happen but for Tony, it was five years and he had no control over it. “No, he was mad. I made him really mad that day. He told me to go home and I followed him to space instead. Now, because of me…” They all look over at Tony. 

Morgan kicks her foot out, bouncing it off of Peter’s shoulder. “Mommy says that Daddy knew what he was doing. It’s not our fault.” She says it in a perfect matter of fact tone that Peter almost believes her. Almost. “But Mommy also said that snuggles would heal Daddy super fast and that’s not working.” Morgan sighs,” but Mommy’s not a doctor so I guess I should have known.”

She looks so sad, shoulder’s sagging and head coming to rest on Peter’s head pathetically. Harley and Peter share eye-contact and it’s like they both know what’s going through the other’s head. “Nope, Morgauna, I’m afraid you’re wrong there. All Tony needs now is some more snuggles. Why don’t we blow this game and go snuggle that old man? Huh?”

Morgan sits back up and nods. Harley picks her up off of Peter’s shoulders and they all fight around Tony. Harley places Morgan on Tony’s right side, the lack of arms there making it a perfect place for Morgan to snuggle against her father. Harley and Peter sit at the end, near his feet, and call it a close enough win. At least they can keep it together for Morgan.

Morgan shifts and a soft whimper leaves Tony’s mouth. His eye cracks open and Morgan screeches,” he’s awake!”

Around the tube, Tony’s mouth lifts and it’s as close to a smile as they’ve all seen in some time. It feels good even if Tony’s eyes slip shut soon after that. 

 

 

“He was awake?” Pepper looks exhausted. Her eyes are weighed down by dark bags that Peter has never even seen on Tony this bad. Then again, Tony just doesn’t sleep so it becomes hard to tell after a while about his inability to sleep. He doesn’t know anymore, everything is confusing. 

Peter doesn’t answer and looks at Harley. Morgan would be the best to answer, Pepper’s her mom, but she’s out like a light. She’s cradled against Tony’s side, arms wrapped tight around her father’s side and his left arm around her. 

Harley clears his throat, stepping in front of Peter. His shoulders seem to keep bearing the same truths that no one else wants. It makes sense in some odd obscure way because they all have something Peter notices. Harley gets stuck doing the dirty work, just like Tony. Morgan is inherently curious, like Tony. Peter is… he hasn’t quite figured that one out yet. 

“Pep,” Peter had never heard anyone but Tony calls Pepper by that nickname but it was already very clear that Harley had an older relationship with the couple. “He was out of it, I’m sure he couldn’t have even been able to tell who we were. His eyes opened and he fell back under, just like that.”

Pepper still has to wipe a tear out of the corners of her eyes. Morgan does what they can’t and hugs her mother, comforting her. Pepper holds her daughter in her arms and it makes Peter yearn for a mother too. He feels awful for thinking right after, Aunt May has been nothing but a mother for him since forever. 

“Steven said he wouldn’t wake up. He was supposed to die.”

If his name could conjure him, then that’s what happened but Dr. Strange’s yellow portal opens right beside them. He looks haggard too and Peter wonders if they all just look like that too. The man fixes his clothes, suddenly appearing self-conscious about the state of his being. He looks around, eyes settling on Morgan and fixing her with an awkward smile. “I believe, I need to talk to you, Miss Potts, in private.”

Pepper wraps her arms tighter around Morgan,” it’s Mrs. Stark and these are Tony’s children. They have every right to hear whatever you’re about to say.” Even with her eyes puffy from crying her lips are set in this tight-lipped scowl that makes Peter feel bad for Dr. Strange. He’s too distracted to feel that bad though with the amount of blush flushing his cheeks from being called Tony’s kid. 

Dr. Strange clears his throat, cheekbones flushing on him too. “I apologize,” his arms fall to his side and he hands grasp one another in front of him. Creating a shield of arm in front of him. “I can’t be sure what Peter’s action did to upset the timeline, or even if they did. I’m afraid that I never saw far enough-” He stops, mid-sentence, and sighs. He looks upset. “I saw one solution, Pepper. One. One chance to save everyone except… I saw him die and I kept looking but this was the only way.”

Pepper sniffles and Peter wonders how she doesn’t look childish doing because he always feels like a five-year-old snot mess when he does it. She frowns at Dr. Strange,” I’m used to no one looking out for him. Don’t make excuses, just tell me if we saved him.”

Peter waits on edge. If the Extremis worked then he’s got to go bust his ass trying to figure out why it didn’t regrow Tony’s right arm. If it didn’t he’s got to go get rid of a case of non-working Extremis in Tony’s garage. Either way, he’s got to tell Bruce why he took it. 

Dr. Strange nods. He frowns but he nods and screw him and his frown because consequences be damned, Tony Stark is alive. “He’s making a speedy recovery. The,” Dr. Strange glances at Peter using him as a visual cue to remember the drug name. “The Extremis is regrowing cells at a rapid rate, his decline is turning around. He started breathing on his own last night. Bruce is working with the doctor’s to get him off the ventilator.”

Peter was there the night that the Extremis began to kill Tony. It was a calculated risk, something that Tony had thought he’d fixed. It’s a possibility that Peter hasn’t been able to push from his mind. He’d watched those test subjects, the pain they were in. Tony never had it that bad. 

The first night he breathed on his own and his stats went up, even more, once they amputated his right arm. He came to the cusp of consciousness twice, gripping the hands in his and moaning. By that morning, his fever was resting at 103.8 and no matter how much they pumped him full of IV’s he wouldn’t sweat. Then his heart started skipping beats. It was terrifying to see.

Then he had a heart attack, his heart nearly stops. They shocked him twice, his heart didn’t come back to beating right but it was close enough. They had to intubate him, have a machine breath for him and that’s how he’s been until today. With the exception of him waking up yesterday.

“You said he had to die,” Peter finds himself saying. Dr. Strange had broken his too cool act enough to pat Peter’s shoulder and try to bring the boy some comfort in the mix of all the horror. _“He’s a brave man, Peter. The strongest I have ever had the pleasure of working beside but there was never a chance he’d survive the snap.”_ “There was no chance he’d live.”

Dr. Strange nods his head,” there wasn’t.” He points at Harley, Peter, and Morgan,” but when I looked before you three weren’t there.” He shakes his head,” Harley, you were at MIT. Tony wrote you a letter to guarantee you got in and, as far as the stones were concerned, the two of you never spoke again.” He looks at Peter and Morgan,” and Peter you leave New York with your Aunt and Morgan was never born.”

Morgan giggles and it’s such an abstract sound to go along with the dark mood cast over them. She beams at Harley and Peter,” we saved Daddy!” 

Dr. Strange nods,” I think you’re right, Morgan.”

Peter shakes his head,” I don’t understand. Why would the stones- How- Why would we leave him? How come no one but me tried the extremis? What-”

Dr. Strange just shakes his head and gives them a simple shrug. “I don’t know. I believe it was all the variables, the people.” He looks as disbelieving and dumbstruck as them. “People are inherently going to do what they always do and in this case, you three defied that, somehow. Peter, you gave him the Extremis. Harley came to see him at the hospital. Morgan survived the snap.” He looks at them again and no wonder he looks tired. He’s probably been thinking and dealing with this for the last few days. Just desperate to make sense of all of this. 

“Thank you,” Pepper is professional once again, at least her voice. “Boys lets go.”

Peter nods, his mind wandering from the hospital. Thanos had said ‘I hope they remember you’ and it still hasn’t settled well for Peter. His heart hurts at the thought, how Thanos had said it with so much conviction. So much certainty that Tony would have to be remembered, that he would die. 

Tony wakes up three days later. He’s sickly and skinny but Pepper is right where she should be and Tony is non-the-wiser that she wasn’t there the first time he opened his eyes. Morgan is sleepily awoken, not too bothered by her father’s new found life before she crawls up his battered body and falls asleep on his chest. Tony manages a small conversation, expressing only worry that everyone else is safe before being soothed back to sleep by Pepper’s soft voice.

Harley and Peter are hiding.

They pick the roof, just hoping Friday doesn’t snitch them out. Harley brings out a pack of cigarettes offering Peter one before he lights it up. He takes a long draw and coughs when he blows it out. It created a cloud over their head and Peter watches it curiously.

“Do you know how impossible it is to be anyone when you’re competing with a dead kid?” Harley holds the cigarette up, inspecting it before sticking the butt back into his mouth. “I started drinking at seventeen, he was so mad. I started smoking at sixteen, he didn’t find out about that until after the snap.” 

Peter looks at Harley, suddenly self-conscious about his age and size beside the older boy. He’s not mad though, just put off maybe a little upset.

“I lived in Tennessee until I was fifteen and then I left for MIT. I went to one of the best colleges ever at fifteen and I still had to compete with you.” Harley smiles at Peter and shakes his head. He flicks the end of his cigarette and Peter watches as the light wind carries the ash away. “He had pictures of the two of you all over his desk and after the snap he just… Pepper had to pack them up because they’d give him panic attacks.”

Harley draws another breath in through the burning cigarette before dropping it to the ground and putting it out with his boot. “I came home from MIT after half of my class disappeared. They couldn’t even hold class anymore without professors. Except, I got to Tennessee and my mother and sister were gone.”

Harley sniffles, rubbing his finger under his nose. “Then I got the call from Tony and so it began. No more drinking because Tony Stark is an alcoholic and when he found out about the cigarettes I was self-medicating with… yikes.”

Peter watches a tear slide down Harley’s cheek. The older boy laughs bitterly and wipes it away with the ball of his fist. “He never liked me as much as you. He was hard with me. Pushed me farther than I could go and adored you.” Harley rubs his hair, pushing fluffy blond hair out of his face. “He adored you and you were dead. Do you know what that’s like? You could always have done better and you weren’t even there to prove it!”

Peter shakes his head because that doesn’t sound right. Harley was the cool kid. Mr. Stark was beyond proud of Harley who got into the MIT with no help from him. Harley the independent theorist double majoring and going to take the world by storm. “Harley, he wanted me to be like you! You’re the one who went to college at fifteen! Tony said you were brilliant. That if I wanted someone to look up to it wasn’t him it was you.”

Harley shakes his head because that can’t be true. He’s the troublemaking idiot that Tony took because he had to. Because Harley helped him once and he had to return the favor. 

“He said he called MIT to give you a good review and they had already accepted you. They had no clue that you knew Tony.” Peter is dumbstruck by this whole thing because he’s the one that had to compete with Harley, not the other way around. “He said-” then he realizes what it is. Maybe it was never Tony pressuring either of them. “He said you were brilliant, even smarter than him. He was going to leave you the suits.”

Harley shakes his head,” but you were the Godsend. You saved him from Siberia.”

“You saved him from the Mandarin!”

“You’re Spider-Man!”

“You started MIT at fifteen!”

“You called him dad first!”

Peter immediately turns red,” that’s not fair. He said he didn’t even know what I was talking about, he said didn’t hear me!” Peter sets his teeth and wracks his brain. “Oh yeah, I read one of those letters you sent him. The one where you gushed about that girl on the-”

“You shit head! I’m totally gonna tell him-”

“Oh yeah? I’m gonna tell him you started smoking again!”

They both bolt for the door, giant smiles on their faces as they race down the stairs.

“Tony!”

Happy is very unpleased with the man he’s standing shoulder to stump with. Rhodey looks around Tony’s head and Happy can tell that Rhodey feels the same way. Tony has been conscious for less than two days and already the man is pushing himself farther than he should be. No amount of Happy, Rhodey, or Pepper arguing with him will stop him either.

Morgan is no help. Happy and Rhodey had nearly talked him down from this little adventure but Morgan had come into Tony’s room with Pepper, took one look at her standing father and squealed with happiness. She’s attached herself to his knees and proudly exclaimed that she was going to teach him to walk as he taught her.

Well, after that there was no way that Tony couldn’t go walking.

“Tony, we’ve been around the hall twice, don’t you think you should rest?” Happy keeps his voice low so that Morgan still attached to Tony’s right leg doesn’t hear. He can feel Tony leaning on him more and more and with how unbalanced this adventure had begun Happy is worried Tony won’t make it as far as he’d like.

Tony’s left land doesn’t land solidly and Happy has to twist his body and keep Tony, Rhodey, Morgan, and himself standing. He manages it only as Rhodey pushes himself away and fumbles to gather himself.

Tony is breathless and pale as he leans his weight against Happy, Morgan watching in horror. “S-Sorry,” he can’t catch his breath and he just gasps until Happy makes him stand back up. Happy wraps an arm around Tony’s torso and moves to Tony’s left side. 

“Hey, Rhodes, why don’t you and Morgan go get us one of those super cool chairs?” Rhodey rubs where his braces have pinched the skin at his knees but nods, stretching his arm out for Morgan to take it. 

She tears her eyes away from her father and she finally understands so much. Her parents arguing late at night, the tears that stain her mother’s eyes when she promises that everything will be okay. The picture of Peter and her father in the kitchen, the one that she has learned not to ask about. Harley sneaking up to the roof late at night to smoke, the way he cries when he thinks that no one is watching. They’re broken. They hurt. They have lost and lost and she thinks she understands why her father becomes frantic around the Avengers. 

They lost.

“Guys,” Morgan turns back around, her arm twisting in Rhodey’s so that she can see who it is that Happy’s talking to. She sees Peter and Harley coming to crashing halts, the smiles on their faces wiping clean and worry furrowing their brows. She wiggles out of Rhodey’s hand, it’s not that hard given that he doesn’t fight her.

She runs for whatever it is that Peter and Harley are worried about.

“Guys, take your crazy somewhere else. He’s not-”

Tony manages just enough spite to mumble,” I’m fine.” Then he catches Morgan and she’s frowning. How much of all of this did she see? Is she afraid, is she mad?

“Daddy,” Morgan steps up to him, pushing past Harley and Peter, and making her tiptoes touch his. “You can’t have any juice pops until you go take a nap. You’re cranky.” She crosses her arms on her chest. She says it with so much conviction who stands at less than half his height.

He looks up at Happy and the man just shrugs. Harley and Peter look like they’re in agreeance with Morgan. So he sighs, he can’t make it to the room on his own and if he’s being honest a nap sounds great right now. “Well, nap time it is but that means you’re taking one too.” 

Tony wipes his nose, his hand coming back with blood smeared on his finger. He rolls his eyes,” Keener, Parker, get over here. My legs are shaky, I’m allergic to Happy’s cat.” He tries not to lean too heavily into Harley when the boy carefully takes Happy’s spot, taking the IV pole from him too.

Peter takes Tony right side and Tony smiles at him. 

Peter feels oddly cold looking at Tony’s butchered shoulder. The lack of arm makes his stomach knot but Tony just brushes off his unease,” you think that’s bad? You should see the jigsaw on my leg. Looks like I have Herpes from my-”

Harley shakes his head,” ew. Stop. No more. I don’t want to think about you naked. That’s disgusting.”

They share a brisk laugh, Morgan looking up at them and giving them what can only be described as ‘stink eye’ when Tony nearly pitches forward. Nonetheless, they get Tony to the room. Happy, Pepper, and Rhodey are already there. The boy's pitty Tony.

“Anthony,” Pepper scolds, using a bald up magazine to swat at the back of his head. “What were you thinking? Why would you push yourself so hard?” She turns from angry to overwhelmingly sad as tears flood her eyes.

Peter guides Tony to the bed and Harley moves to position the IV pole behind him. Tony sinks far too quickly into the pillows, no longer able to force himself to act strong and collected. It’s okay though because Harley’s centering him in the mass of pillows and Peter is pulling a blanket to his chest.

“Pep?” Tony fights against his body, forcing himself to sit half upright, even it makes the entire right half of his body feel like it’s on fire. “You gotta come here, sweetheart, I don’t think the boys or Morgan are going to let me out of the bed.” He moves his arm in a gesture to invite her down.

It takes her a moment but she crawls in beside him. She buries her head into his chest and lets herself cry. Her fear, guilt, and pain rearing its head for the first real time. Not just a few slipped tears but the anger and fear she felt at the thought of losing her husband.

Tony doesn’t stay awake for long, his left arm buried in Pepper’s hair.

“Thank you, boys.”

Harley and Peter turn to each other before mumbling ‘no problems’ under their breath. 

Then Harley thinks about it and that was awful. “He said he has Herpes down his leg, he’s the worst.”

Pepper laughs around the tears. She shakes her head and believes every word of it because that’s totally something he would say.

“Mommy?” Morgan comes up to the right side of the bed, her eyes glancing at the spot where father’s right arm should be before looking to her mother. “He’s going to be okay now, right?”

Pepper can think of so many times that she’s told Morgan that her father would be okay and for once, she has not even a shred of doubt. “Yes, baby. He’s going to be okay.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might do a third chapter but I don't know, yet, what to do for it so suggestions would be cool. 
> 
> At the moment, I'm thinking maybe a family outing like a gala...
> 
> SUGGESTIONS ARE HIGHLY LOVED AND SO ARE COMMENTS!!!!!!

For the second time in a week, the doctor’s look at her and tell her there’s nothing else they can do for her husband. The first time her life was split in half, one half at home with her Uncle Happy and the other half cradled in Captain America’s arms. They took one look at him and shook their heads, there’s no way they could fix Iron Man. Looking at the man, his blood pooling at Captain America’s feet and one hell of a crossword/road rash up his neck and arm, she nearly takes it at that. She just wants to hold her husband one last time. 

The second time, Tony’s beaming at her, his face healing from Dr. Cho’s machine. He shares a high-five with their daughter, his hand enclosing around her tiny one. It makes her heartache but she still smiles when Tony places a sloppy kiss on her cheek. It makes her stomach revolt because she almost lost him. How many kisses had they shared? Would it be enough if had died? Does he know that she loves him like she’s never loved another person? That if he had died, he would have taken too many parts of him with her?

“Where did you put my shoes?”

She’s told him four times where to find his shoes. A split second of anger makes her open her mouth to shout at him, to remind him that she’s reminded him several times that she put his shoes on the chair on his left side. Then she remembers the palladium poisoning, how the heavy metal caused him to forget that she was allergic to strawberries and yet how hard he had tried to make her happy. Except his dying body could only remember the faint correlation between her and strawberries not that the correlation was bad. 

She looks at him carefully, the way he’s just looking at the ground in short tempered confusion. So she crosses the space between them, carding her fingers through the back of his hair, kissing the top of his head. She’s loving, touchy, but she’s not big on PTA. The open adoration that she shows to the whole room of people makes him lift an eyebrow but he’s quickly distracted when she places his shoes in his lap.

She’s just got to focus on one thing at a time and really what she means by that is everything at once.

“Happy,” Pepper looks the opposite of amused when Morgan and Happy walk into the hospital room. Happy had taken Morgan home, rather to his house or their’s she’s unsure, and was in charge of making sure she got a bath and would be ready for tonight. “Did you bathe her? Her hair is in knots.”

Happy glares down at Morgan’s head, Morgan just stands dumbly between them. She won’t open her mouth and accidentally become who they blame for her hair. “What do you mean? I braided it.” 

Pepper sighs, her stress skyrocketing. Tony grounds her in a split second, his hand coming to her back. He smiles when she glances at him. “Hey, Pep, don’t worry about it. Let’s just get home, huh? I’m sure one of the boys would be more than willing to help me wrangle our little monster into the tub.” The smooth lines of his face, age lines, smile lines, crows feet, and the little scar that runs diagonally on his cheek, they stop her from panicking. 

So she nods her head instead of pointing out that he’s going to need a lot of help getting Morgan into the tub. He can’t wash her hair with one arm, not when he can hardly stand. There’s no way he can fight her into a dress sore and lightheaded because he couldn’t even manage that in good health. Then again, Morgan has a weird way of exceeding their expectations.

She scoops Morgan into her arms while Happy helps Tony put on a sweatshirt. They’ve decided to just stick with tucking the right arm sleeves into the shirts. Happy cups the back of Tony’s neck when he’s done and they share something softly between one another before Tony nods. Happy gives him a respective amount of distance before Tony uses his arm to push himself off the bed.

It goes bad quickly, he starts to tilt and instantly he goes to move his right arm but there is no right arm to stop his descent. Happy grabs his left arm just as Pepper is shielding Morgan, and all motion stops in the room. Tony glances up at Morgan but she’s not looking. It visibly relaxes him. “Hey, Morgan?”

She picks her head off of her mother’s shoulder, her thumb edging at her lips. Her brown eyes find her father’s matching ones and she moves her body in Pepper’s arms until she put her head back against Pepper and look at him at the same time.

Happy helps Tony into the wheelchair, prying his eyes away from Tony even if he does look pale and not ready to leave. He makes sure that Morgan can’t see Tony by moving his body right into her line of sight. She’s not too bothered, half asleep against Pepper. Maybe he should have put her to bed sooner last night.

“Come to daddy, kiddo.” Tony doesn’t protest when Happy moves Tony to Pepper and Morgan. Already well adjusted to using his left arm to pick and move Morgan around, Tony lets Morgan fall into his left arm and he holds her close to his chest once she gets there. “Careful, Hap, we’ve got precious cargo aboard.” Tony strokes a strand of Morgan’s hair out of her face, deciding, at the sight of her thumb in her mouth, that he'd rather pick a battle he'll win. This isn't one of them.

Pepper walks behind Happy, watching the way that Morgan sinks into Tony, how he becomes tangled in her tiny arms. Her world being pushed down the hall of a hospital, a whole week since the doctors told her there was nothing they could do. After they condemned her to watch her husband die only to find that a Freshman in high school had saved him. It makes her wonder what it is that Tony saved them all from, what kind of world he’s going to raise three children in.

Three. Her brain suddenly reminds, a little louder, more prominent. Her stupid, overbearing, too loving, and amazing husband has signed them up to raise two teenagers, a child, and Nebula. Christ, that’s four! Not three.

“Tony!” Peter waves at them when they come out of the hospital. Harley stands leaning against the car, flicking a cigarette away, and pushes his sunglasses up his nose. They’re going to raise two teenagers who happen to be nothing alike. Peter who talks Tony’s ear off, who makes Tony laugh until he cries, and who allows Tony to be silent and needy when he needs to be. Then there’s Harley, the trouble maker, who’s too much like Tony for his own good, who’s going to make Tony all grey by the end of the year, and who still comes to Tony when he needs help. 

“Guess who’s driving, old man?” Harley comes around to meet them, Peter taking Morgan out of Tony’s arm with only a small fight from both of them. He takes one side of Tony while Happy mans the door. Tony visibly leans into Harley, a small half frown smile on his lips. The two talk softly to one another, something that makes Harley sharply shake his head and Tony shake his back. They relax into one another, melting around the outside until it becomes hard to tell which limbs belong to who as they move.

Peter shushes Morgan while he wrangles her into her booster seat. She whines momentarily and Pepper stands in awe as her little family works flawlessly around her. Peter manages to calm Morgan down once she’s in the car, pulling her down so her head is resting on his shoulder while he strokes her hair back. His mouth forming sweet nothings.

Harley is fighting with Tony as they both struggle to situate Tony in the back seat with Peter and Morgan. It’s a heated one, Tony attempting to correct something Harley’s asking about and Harley hitting right back. It settles back down quick enough, Harley hands him his seat belt, making a snappy comment about Tony hitting his head, and the two split up. Tony rolling his eyes but still a smile on his lips.

Harley comes around the back of the car, flashing her with a smile,” yo, Pep, you getting in? Tony didn’t say- I can drop you off somewhere or take you-”

She shakes her head, moving to do something other than stand and observe. “Thank you, Harley, but I’m afraid all I want is to sleep in my own bed for a few hours.” Tony winks at her for that comment and she can only wonder how he’s thinking about sex in the condition he’s in. Then again, she really should know better. She shuts his door, rolling her eyes at his antics, and takes her place in the passenger's seat. Happy comes to her door and her already rolled down window allows him to stick his head in.

He looks around,” it’s pretty packed in here. Morgan, you wanna ride with Uncle Happy?” He smiles at the little girl but she’s burying her face in Peter’s neck, she just shakes her head. Happy frowns and turns his smile to Tony,” wanna come with me, Boss?”

Tony makes a face and Happy already knows his answer. Tony shakes his head,” yeah, you see, I sat down so I’m here until we get back to the cabin. I’m not moving.” Happy can’t blame him, so he just nods, and sighs. He’s got to drive all alone in the SUV. They’re the worst. “Okay, well, I’ll meet you at the cabin. I’m gonna grab some hamburgers-” Tony and Morgan’s head both pick up at the that. “I’ll grab pickles and what kind of chips?”

Everyone gives him a different answer:

“Fishes!”- Morgan.

“Sunchips.” -Peter.

“Those triangles that are red.” -Tony

“Cheetos.” -Harley

“Wheat Thins.” -Pepper

Happy shakes his head,” I won’t be seen buying sunchips, first of all. You’re not six, Harley, I’m not buying Cheetos. Wheat thins is-is the worst answer, I can’t believe you’d actually say something like that Pepper. I thought we were friends?” He smiles at Morgan,” but I can make Doritos and Goldfish happen.”

Peter frowns, Harley too. Peter just nudges Tony,” can you make him buy me sunchips? Please? Pretty please, Tony?” Peter pokes his lip out and Harley turns from the driver’s seat to the do the same. Morgan even leans out and does her lip too, offering a,” please daddy?”

Tony looks at Happy and he sighs deeply,” fine but I won’t like it.” He stands back up, straightening his suit,” now, go. Get out of here, you all need naps. The whole lot of you look sleep deprived.” Happy nods and then zeroes in on Harley,” drive slow, careful.” Harley smiles and nods, because they all know what he means. Harley is taking off with Happy’s whole family and Harley can understand that sentiment because he’s driving his whole family too.

Harley turns the radio on, drowning out Morgan and Peter’s light mumblings to one another. Pepper doesn't seem to mind, it takes her two minutes before she leans her head against the window and shuts her own eyes. Harley moves the rear view mirror to see Tony better, with the New York traffic Happy and Tony had taught him to never rely on his mirrors anyways. His eyes bounce between the mirror and the road. Luckily, back ways quickly take them from the city and homeward. 

The car becomes silent, Morgan’s head on Peter’s shoulder, Peter’s on Tony’s. Tony remains awake. A quick glance at Pepper and Harley comes to realize that it’s just him and Tony awake. “You good old man?” He’s met with silence and anxiety makes him wonder if his mentor actually likes him. What if he’s overstepped a boundary? What if Tony hates him? What if-

“Kid?” Tony’s head is leaning against the window, his eyes watching the pavement as it passes. “If something… I’m retiring, no more Iron Man, you understand?” He doesn’t actually attempt to gauge if Harley does or not. “We’ve got this gala tonight, all of you are coming to watch, and I just… If something happens, God forbid, would you- can you-”

Harley meets Tony’s eyes for a moment,” of course.” He clears his throat,” nothing’s going to happen though. We’re going to go home, we’re gonna build you a new arm, and we’re going to live. No more Iron Man and no more Avengers.” It hurts to say it out loud, not because he wants any of it not to be true but because he has to say it in general. He’s tired of his mentor being roped into all of this. Because that’s what they said last time and look where they are now. Each time it just gets worse.

The thought makes Harley’s stomach twist in knots but with Tony’s anxiety gone, he falls asleep. Harley remains behind the wheel, heart beating too quick in his chest, and the same thoughts running through his head. Morgan asking where her father is. Pepper, alone, at the lake crying where she thinks none of them can hear her. Peter… he can’t do it but if it makes Tony feel better thinking that Harley could somehow hold them all together in he’ll let him think that.

“Pete, get Morgan.” Harley puts the car in park and the sound wakes most of them, Pepper and Peter. Peter nods and immediately works at pulling Morgan out of the car without waking her. Pepper offers guidance. “Easy with her head, we have to keep her asleep. She’ll be cranky at the gala otherwise.”

Harley helps Tony. Sleeping seems to have done the bags under Tony’s eyes some good but it’s made his body stiff and sore. “Just-” they keep missing steps because Tony wants to move faster than his body is capable of. “Just, slow down. Calm down, it’s just me.” Harley frowns when that does nothing to help. He should see it coming, Tony hates demonstrations of weakness and the last week has been nothing but. It’s been hard on all of them, Harley keeps forgetting that. 

They get into the house, and Harley is glad that the other’s are all busy. Tony stumbles twice and each time Harleys stops their sudden descent. Tony never says anything about it, never even thanks him, but Harley doesn’t expect it and Tony certainly appreciates that he doesn't. It would be beyond weird if he did thank… Harley would much rather take Tony’s nonverbal thanks. Which could just be being passed the mustard when they eat their cheeseburgers without having to ask or something more extreme like money. He’d rather just have the mustard.

Tony would rather have a nap. Harley leaves him to it, going back to his own room. A soft knock on the door wakes Harley from a cat nap he hadn’t realized he was slipping into. He spares a glance at the alarm clock on his desk and wonders if this knock is to yell at him about not getting ready yet. It’s five o’clock which means it’s time to eat and start putting on their ‘fancy’ clothes. Happy is no doubt on the other side about to just ream him or not being downstairs. Instead, he finds Morgan. 

She stands with her hands on her hips,” daddy says that shut doors means that I have to knock. Uncle Happy said I didn’t have to knock but I didn’t knock when I went into Peter’s room and I saw his butt so I knocked on your door.” She manages to make what should be two or three sentences a one breathe, one sentence. Now she just stands in his doorway, that is until he leans against the frame and the motions engage her memory enough for her to realize she has something to do. “Oh! Also, Uncle Happy made cheeseburgers and Daddy says it’s time to eat so you better-”

Harley pushes himself off the wall and scoops Morgan up over his shoulder. She squeals as she balances with only one of his arms protecting her from falling straight on her head. When they get into the living room Morgan’s happy squeals lighten the mood. Harley’s not sure what they had been talking about but Pepper’s face is flush with emotion and Peter can’t even look at them.

“Here, sport.” Tony passes him a cheeseburger, eyes now the only thing that gives away what he’s feeling. There’s a semblance of normalcy to the way they arrange themselves in the kitchen. The table just somehow able to seat them all. 

Turns out, Peter doesn’t know how to sit in chairs. He crosses his legs and sits like an obedient kindergartener on top of the chair. Morgan struggles until Tony slides her sandwich away from her and cuts it in half. There’s a half-formed complaint on her lips until she sees that his is cut the same way. Happy seems far away, only coming back to earth when Peter yells happily about actually getting his sunchips. Pepper never says a word and it would be weird if this all didn’t feel right.

“Daddy?” Morgan climbs up into Tony’s lap as Peter and Harley work on clearing the dishes. Harley watches her out of the corner of his eye. “Do we really have to go to the dance?” She pouts a lip out and Tony tucks a strand of her hair back behind her ear. 

 

He boops her nose with his and admits,” you mean the gala? I don’t know, baby. Mommy is making me go.” Which isn’t true at all. This gala is a fundraised he started back in the nineties in memory of his mother. It’s not about Pepper making him at all and everyone but Morgan knows that. It’s why Harley nor Peter have complained about it yet. They won’t make Tony go by himself.

Morgan looks disappointed,” oh.” She lays her head against his chest, twisting his cotton shirt around her finger. “Is Pete and Harley gonna come?” The hope in her eyes shines so brightly that some shine into Tony too. Morgan is hopeful, she’s got a future and she’s got a family now. It makes something safe warm Tony’s heart. It makes him feel secure in this moment even if his body teeters towards something week and unable. So he smiles, brushes a thumb over her cheek with his only hand, and nods his head. “Yeah, monkey, they’ll come.”

She smiles so big that Tony can’t hope but feel that too. His little spit-fire… Would he have survived at all without her? When he was dying after coming home, from the first snap, it was Pepper pleading with him, telling him about the little girl growing in her womb that saved him. That forced him to remember that he was fighting for more than just one child. Peter was gone but he still had a punk in Tennessee waiting on him and now a little girl. After the second it was Morgan, again. 

Morgan climbs out of Tony’s lap, wiggling down to the floor and running out of the kitchen. The sound of her footsteps echoes through the house, everyone just standing in silence until she comes barreling back through. She’s frowning at them,” come on! We’ve got to get together!”

Tony smiles over his shoulder,” she means ‘we need to _put_ ourselves together’.” He reaches out and messes up her hair,” we’re coming, kiddo.” He winks at her and no one doubts that in that moment things are just going to sail smoothly. Tony's alive. The universe is saved. Heroes are back and ready to kick ass. It was good.

Until it wasn't. 

Tony tries to keep it together. To keep his perfect mask in place and continue on as the freshly healed Iron Man, already bouncing to get back to work. Only he couldn't even make it through a nap without waking up soaked in sweat and trembling from a nightmare. That’s the first major thing that nips his mood in the bud. Struggling to get to the door is a minor hindrance, none of them expect him to make the journey. They do expect him to be fine though.

“Ouch!” For the fourth time in as little as an hour, Tony jerks his hand back away from the burning material on his bench. He makes a fist, grunting when it pulls on sore muscles. He shifts his weight forward, away from the fume hood, and lets his weight lean on the bench. Leaning the forearm crutches against the bench too. 

His body is starting to retaliate. The forearm crutches had been a great idea because there was not a fat chance in hell he was using a wheelchair. Only, after a few hours, and not being used to them, he’d rubbed some of his skin raw and his left arm is killing him. He keeps burning it every time the hot metal rejects and sends little dots of melted metal at him. Luckily, the prosthetic arm is doing a lot better.

“Boss, might I suggest fume hood lid?” 

Tony shoots his ceiling a dirty look,” might I suggest a new IA program? One that doesn’t boss me around?” He does put down the fume hood, though. His made to protect from more than just your average, he could probably hide the whole lot of them in the fume hood if they were ever nuked. 

“I suggested it, boss. There is a difference it just seems that you’re too tired to note the difference. I might suggest sleeping. You have been up for 76 hours.” 

He spirals.

The phantom pain from his right arm flares and he can’t see. His right knee gives out and he falls hard. His breath catches. His chest squeezes like he’s in space again, long before Peter Parker and Harley Keener. The ships go up in flames in from of his face. The suit is cold. The bomb warming his face as its energy hits him. He’s falling-

“Breathe.” A hand comes to rest on the small of his back and his brain recognizes the voice as Harley. God, he just keeps dumping crap on this kid. Why can’t he do anything right? “Christ, Tony. Fucking chill, dude.” Another hand pushes his head towards his knees but the original is right on his back. “Just breathe. It’ll pass.”

Harley’s body into view and the boy gets down on his knees in front of Tony and the bench. He smiles at him,” hey, old man. What’re you freaking out about? The world’s safe. Peter’s back. I haven’t even mentioned New York.” The old joke earns him panicked eyes in response and he grimaces. “Right, sorry. After all this time, I, honestly, thought you were over almost dying.” 

Tony closes his eyes and Harley drones on. He talks about his little sister. Tells him about how his mother grounded him for three days before he got Tony’s gift and was able to prove that he hadn’t just stolen his sister’s watch. He tells Tony about how his mother started drinking. About the night that she killed herself and his sister. How he’s still pretty sure it was his fault. If he’d just been normal he would have been home too. Only he was MIT, showing off his brain instead of supporting his little sister and mother. 

“When was the last time you slept?” After his emission of guilt, he'd let his voice trail off. He stared at the wall and Tony’s eyes joined him. “Haven’t seen you since the gala.” Harley pushes Tony’s shoulder with his, getting the older man’s attention. “How’s the arm?”

Tony looks at him, his mind elsewhere. “What?” He looks down his arms and it clicks, he shakes his head. “Uh, the prosthetic one was easy. What was hard was publishing a WikiHow on how to build one when I was done.”

Harley touches the metal, it’s crappily hand painted to look like Tony’s suit and Harley wouldn’t put it past Morgan to have painted it. He turns it, looking at the exposed wires and eyeballing the logistics of the arm. “Morgan paint this thing and how is this it so light?”

Tony frowns,” Pete did.” Harley barks out a laugh and Tony shakes his head,” do not patronize him about it. The weight is a copper synthetic little thing. It’s still not far enough for me to do much but I haven’t experienced any side effects yet so I guess it’s fine." 

Harley looks skeptical. He nods though because Tony is visibly exhausted and if agreeing brings the older man even a little bit of ease then he’ll agree with him. Harley closes his fist and pounds Tony lightly on his shoulder,” wanna go upstairs?” 

Tony turns his head away, his eyes looking along the fume hood. His projects-

“Come on, you’re the Mechanic.” Harley moves until he’s shoulder-to-shoulder with Tony,” you’re invincible but you still gotta sleep.”

Tony nods but they don’t move. They’re both thinking, silently, about the other. Harley just wants Tony to sleep. He wants to be able to take his mentor’s hand and lead him upstairs to Pepper and Peter who are both hoping that he can manage to convince Tony up there. He needs Tony to sleep just as much as Tony does. Tony has to convince himself that Harley doesn’t think of him as weak. He’ll easily admit that he’s on the wrong side fifty. That missing one arm isn’t making life any easier. Or even that his right leg is cramping and he’s not even sure that using the forearm crutch is going to help in moving it. 

“Please, Tony.” Harley whispers,” Peter’s freaking out. He didn’t sleep last night and Pepper is playing an awesome front but…” Harley actually looks at Tony. He doesn't just throw him a sideways glance he makes eye contact. Something he hasn’t done since the snap. “You’re scaring us, man. We just got you back when everyone told us you were gone. We fought just as hard as you did to get here. Where did that fight go because it feels like you’ve stopped.”

That rubs Tony wrong because he is fighting but… perhaps only against himself. So he stifles his panic, he can handle a couple of steps and nods his head. “Let’s go. I don’t want to hear a word out of you about this though or, I swear, I’ll give your college fund to Peter.” 

Harley smiles and gets to his own feet, offering Tony his hand. The older man uses it but only after shooting Harley a half-hearted dirty look. It takes a moment to get him into motion but once he gets the crutch wrapped around his arm he does fairly good by leaning against it. The stairs a difficult to work with but Harley wordlessly wraps his arm around Tony right side. They manage.

The minute that they make it to the living room, Harley lets go of Tony and allows Pepper to take his place. They all work silently to assure as little awkwardness as possible. Pepper leads Tony to the room, Peter and Harley waiting in the hall to their rooms until the sound of the crutch hitting the floor is gone. Only then do either resign to head towards their rooms.

“Harley?”

“Yeah?”

Peter isn’t sure what he means to say in full. He needs to thank the older boy but that’s not nearly enough. “Thanks for-for getting him out of the garage. I don’t know…”

Harley’s voice comes sharp and clear through the hall. No longer moving towards his room he stands in the hall,” any of us could have done it, Peter. We’re all he has. Don’t forget that next time it happens because he always does. Go to bed, he’ll be fine.” Harley disappears before Peter can say anything else and it’s probably for the best.

Peter climbs into his bed and he feels cold. He stacks more blankets on to himself, still cold. He resigns to lay there anyway. Four comforters stacked atop his regular one, shivering. 

_“I heard he started drinking again, floozing around. What would you know about that Penis?” Flash grins, taunting,” I mean, you spend so much time around him. How is the man in the can doing?”_

Peter throws the covers off, he’s close to panicking. His legs can hardly hold his weight but he pushes himself out of his room and down the hall. He passes Harley’s room, Morgan’s, and goes straight for the master bedroom. 

He cracks the door open and his brain races to come up with a good excuse to be there. Only, the light from the night light in the hall hits the room and Peter feels his chest loosen. Harley’s sitting against the bed, his head tilted to lay on the mattress. His hand is curled into the sheets and Tony’s hand is buried in his hair. Pepper is curled against Tony, her arm over his stomach keeping him there with her. Then there’s Morgan who is laying tucked against his chest, lanky arms wrapped around his body to keep her there. 

Peter slides down the side of the bed and leans forward until his head rest where Tony’s leg is. 

“You good, Pete?” Tony’s voice comes out slurred and his eyes are hardly open but the concern is still evident. Peter moves to a more comfortable position and nods. Tony hums, eyes closing back,” get some sleep, kiddie.”

And he does. They all do.

**Author's Note:**

> For me, I always think of all of them as different levels of Science  
> Tony is chaos science. There is no reason for why he does it other than because he wants to understand it all. He's in utter amazement by science   
> Harley is an angry science. He does science to prove you wrong and so he can beat you up with his science brain  
> Peter is pure science. He does science so he can help people because if he doesn't then who will  
> Morgan, though, I'm not sure yet. 
> 
> I think I'm going to do chapter 2 if anyone has ideas


End file.
